~Chapter 106~
The next day came.
“Ruby.”
“Yes, Damien?”
“It’s time we start preparing for our third rite.”
At his words, I put down the new book by writer Frightning I had been reading.
“You’re right. We still have plenty of time, but it’s better to finish it early, isn’t it?”
“Yes. As long as it’s within four months, it’s fine.”
“If I remember right, the conditions aren’t very strict, right? Well… actually, they’re pretty vague.”
What I remembered was this: the third rite required “faith that neither will leave the other.”
When both partners agreed to proceed, and this condition was fulfilled, a purple moon would appear. Under that moon, they would bind their souls in a contract.
But this had to be completed within four months after the second rite.
“Yes,” Damien nodded. “Most couples who make it past the second rite can perform the third without much difficulty. So we shouldn’t worry too much.”
His eyes, clear and flickering with light, fixed on me.
“Still, I want to be sure once more.”
He leaned forward and gazed into my eyes.
“Do you still have no doubts about completing the third rite with me?”
“Yes.”
I nodded without a shred of hesitation.
“Good.”
Damien smiled faintly and reached out his hand.
“I can feel that you truly wish for this contract.”
Because of the second rite’s influence, my strong will to complete the soul contract had been conveyed to him as well.
“Then, let’s start preparing soon.”
He placed his hand gently on my head and stroked it. For some reason, I wanted to lean into that touch even more.
“I’ll help prepare too.”
“Good.”
Yes. At that time, I had no other thoughts.
“Phew.”
Damien let out a deep breath before a mountain of books.
In front of him lay an old tome about the Maledictus soul contract. One faded sentence continued to weigh heavily on his mind.
[But, the spouse will share the same lifespan as the Maledictus.]
‘At first, this was one of the reasons I wanted to form the soul contract…’
Back in the early days of our marriage, Rubiana had suddenly coughed blood and appeared very frail.
No cause had been found, but Damien had vowed to free her from her fear of illness and death.
Later, after solving the problem of the Swallower’s rampage through curse consumption, those symptoms had vanished.
It seemed her bloody coughing fits had been caused by the Swallower’s hunger.
But this created a new problem.
‘If it’s like a disease cured, maybe Ruby’s life isn’t as short as I thought…’
If so, then wouldn’t Rubiana lose out by binding herself to his lifespan?
Of course, Rubiana had once said she was fine even if it meant she couldn’t die when she wished, or had to die even when she didn’t want to.
But now… Damien wasn’t fine.
‘If her lifespan is shorter than mine, that’s one thing. But what if it’s actually longer than mine…?’
He wanted his beloved wife to live long, to enjoy her full life. Even if he died first, he wanted Rubiana to live much longer, healthy and safe.
He had never felt this way for anyone before. But Rubiana was always the exception.
Thud.
He closed the book and muttered softly.
“In the end, there’s only one conclusion.”
Before beginning the third rite, he had to confirm Rubiana’s lifespan.
‘…I didn’t want to resort to this, but…’
When newspapers yielded no information, he sent a telegram to his informants.
[If you have any information about the appearance of a vampire curse, report immediately.]
Blood was already prepared.
What he needed now was a vampire.
“Argh! Let me out, you insane human!!”
A bat trapped in a cage shrieked wildly, rattling the bars. But as a mere bat, it could neither break free nor escape.
“Unbelievable! Do you know who I am? What are you doing to the great vampire lord?!”
Damien had learned from his informants of a vampire curse often sighted in the eastern regions.
Though it didn’t seem especially powerful, it was indeed a vampire curse. Damien had gone there, knocked it out with his bare hands, and brought it back.
“You not only imprisoned the great vampire, but forced me into this bat form?!”
Damien stared coldly at the creature.
“If you meet my condition, I’ll release you.”
At this, the bat rattled the cage even harder.
“You’re crazy! At least let me transform into human form!”
“You can drink blood even as a bat.”
“What nonsense! I was living peacefully, and you just kidnapped me out of nowhere!”
The bat smacked the cage with its wing, shouting rapidly.
“I refuse! I won’t drink it! How can I, a proud vampire, stoop to drinking blood offered by a human?!”
Damien demanded that the vampire drink both his and Rubiana’s blood to measure their lifespans.
Vampires, who fed on blood, had an uncanny ability: with just a taste, they could roughly predict a living being’s lifespan.
There could be an error of one or two years, but when comparing lifespans, they were almost never wrong.
“Then you’ll live as a bat forever.”
Damien spoke flatly.
“You… you bastard…!”
The bat trembled but couldn’t resist. This cage had been specially crafted, made of pure silver, preventing any vampire inside from escaping or transforming.
“Just wait until I get out,” it growled.
Damien sighed quietly. He needed information urgently, yet this vampire refused even to touch the blood he offered.
‘Weren’t vampires supposed to crave blood above all else?’
But this vampire grimaced and turned away from the vial of Damien’s blood.
“Take that away! How dare you try to feed me such tasteless blood?!”
The vial contained Damien’s blood, drawn to see if Rubiana’s lifespan was longer or shorter than his.
At the vampire’s tantrum, Damien put the vial away.
“Then try this instead.”
This time, he held out the vial with Rubiana’s drop of blood.
Immediately, the rattling stopped. The bat’s red eyes gleamed.
“What’s that?”
Its reaction was completely different.
“That smell… it’s divine.”
Greedy light flared in its eyes.
“Give it to me.”
The bat spread its fanged mouth in a grin.
“Promise me more of that blood, and I’ll measure the lifespans for you.”
Damien frowned.
‘Of all things, it had to desire Rubiana’s blood…’
If it were his own, he would give as much as needed. But Rubiana’s blood—he could not.
“I can’t give you more of that. But I can offer the blood of animals fed on fruit.”
“I don’t want that!”
The bat’s face twisted.
“Give it to me NOW!!”
It roared so loudly the whole room shook, throwing itself at Damien cage and all.
“Wait!”
For the first time, Damien saw a vampire force itself through the pain of silver bars, desperate for blood. He focused all his attention on protecting the vial.
But in that instant, the bat pushed its snout between the bars and bit down hard on Damien’s hand.
“Urgh!”
Pain shot through him, and instinctively, Damien’s right eye unleashed his curse. The shadowy tendrils lashed out and struck the bat.
“Sqaaawk!!”
Hit directly, the bat collapsed unconscious in the cage.
“…Damn.”
Glancing into a mirror on the wall, Damien saw his own reflection with unease.
Already, his fangs had grown sharper, and his amethyst eyes had begun to glow red.
And just then—
Bang!
The door burst open, and Rubiana ran in with a worried face.
“Damien, what happened?! Are you all right?”
She must have heard the noise and rushed over.
He was grateful… but also troubled.
“R-Ruby…”
The sweet, intoxicating scent of her blood filled his senses, making his head spin.
“Don’t come closer…!”
He covered his face with one hand, biting the inside of his cheek to hold himself back, and stopped her in her tracks.
